Oil executive embezzled more than £1.3 million to fund lavish lifestyle

An oil industry executive with a previous conviction for embezzlement stole more than £1.3 million from her employer to fund a lavish lifestyle of expensive cars, foreign holidays and designer clothes.

Jacqueline McPhee, 46, took the money while she was a vice-president of finance at Altus Intervention in Aberdeen, between March 2013 and April 2014.

She earned a salary of nearly £147,000 from the firm, which supplies equipment for North Sea projects, but hatched a complicated scam to divert funds from the business to subsidise her life of luxury.

Alison Di Rollo, prosecuting, told the High Court in Edinburgh that McPhee spent £80,000 on a Range Rover Sport, up to £70,000 on a new garage and driveway and £30,000 on a summer house for her garden.

She also spent £52,000 on a new kitchen and large sums on foreign holidays and expensive clothes.

However, the court heard she is currently living with her parents in a caravan in Arbroath and is embroiled in “bitter” divorce proceedings.

She also faces a proceeds of crime action and the likelihood of a jail sentence.

Sixteen years ago, McPhee was sentenced to 300 hours of community service for stealing £250,000 from her previous employer Inventec, in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire.

She admitted on Tuesday embezzling £1.38 million, was said to have had full oversight of the Aberdeen company’s finances, and was trusted by executives.

Ms Di Rollo added: "The accused's role as VP finance entailed her supervising the finance team, consisting of two finance managers, eight account assistants and a number of cost and credit controllers.

"She had control of monies for the company's operations in the UK and West Africa.

“With responsibility for producing management accounts, she had full oversight of the company's financial performance and reported costs, revenues and turnover on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis to the managing director and the parent company in Norway.

"She had autonomy over approval of invoices received for payment with full access to company bank accounts. She enjoyed a high degree of responsibility within the company and was in a position of considerable trust."

McPhee used her husband’s firm, Craigie Knowe Ltd, an Aberdeen-based contractor, behind his back to carry out the frauds.

She began making payments into the company’s account in early 2013, not long after starting work with Altus.

Questioned about the payments by another employee, she claimed they related to the creation of a branch of the firm in Cyprus and said the sums involved where high because of the involvement of solicitors in Dubai.

The police were contacted after McPhee bought two properties, in Aberdeen and Stonehaven, in quick succession for cash “without the legitimate means to do so”. The company has managed to recover just under £239,000 from its former employee.

Tony Lenehan, defending, said his client was now involved in a bitter divorce from her husband.